The Criminal's Daughter
by DawnDestination
Summary: Keeping her hostage was the best strategy. Keeping her for himself was the worst plan. Ed/OC
1. Chasing Shadows

"More evil gets done in the name of righteousness than any other way."  
―Glen Cook

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Chasing Shadows

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A/N: After a year long hiatus, I've come back to life and tweaked my horribly written fanfic, eradicated a few characters, made the story much simpler and understandable, and shorter by leagues.

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The minute she woke, her eyes met dark, dull walls encasing her inside this dreary prison. Moonlight beamed through small openings along the stonewall barricaded by thin poles. Her head felt heavy as she tried to prop herself up on her elbows.

As soon as she had gathered her wits about her, the girl stood up on the bed, toes tipping so she could reach the hole that held a free world beyond it. She could taste the dew kissed grass budding from the ground above her, and smell the crisp breath of the Eastern Ocean.

She looked around. No one was there. At least, no one who should know. The girl cupped her mouth with both her hands and began to mimic the hoot of an owl. A lithe, brown fox emerged from the shadows, red fur glinting against twilight rays.

"I knew you'd come, Bane," she grinned.

"Please, Calla. Stop calling for me as if I were some dog." The fox gnarled crossly.

"It's not my fault you always answer to it," she retorted. "Now get me out of here quick before they try and kill me."

"Wonderful. After I save you, your father will kill me." Bane muttered before vanishing into the shrubs once again.

* * *

"Edmund, she's just a girl. She had nothing to do with this." Lucy reasoned the minute her brother suggested the girl in the dungeons be surrendered as a hostage to Archenland.

The young Queen almost never dared cross her brother about matters that would require his judgments. She knew Edmund Pevensie was an unprejudiced man with logical reasons. He prided himself for being the Just. But today, his attitude seemed stripped of the title.

"Nothing?" Edmund almost laughed. "Archenland has ordered anyone affiliated with Reth Winter be handed over to them, and this 'girl' you speak of is his _daughter_."

"That man had a daughter? How did you know?"

"She told me."

"That is absurd. Why would she risk telling _you_ her identity?"

He brushed his hair that fell sloppily into a mess over his dark eyes. "I've no clue."

"Did you tell anyone about this?" Lucy asked.

Edmund glanced around the room. "I didn't want to alarm anyone yet."

"So then why are you so bent on surrendering the criminal's daughter?"

"Her father has done offense on Archenland, our trusted ally. That means whatever fault or felon has wrong our linked kingdoms, it has wronged us too," the _Just_ king explained in a _very just_ demeanor.

She raised an eyebrow. "That is _really _interesting, Ed," she sighed. "Now are you going to tell me more of your self righteous jokes _or_ the real reason behind this?"

Edmund showed her an absolute look of befuddlement. "That's completely…absurd. Why on earth would I jest?"

Lucy was not the least bit convinced of his act. He inwardly cursed himself at how easily he was caught.

"Archenland doesn't trust us enough, alright, Lu? Ever since Reth had crossed our borders with a great threat, I've been forced to do the pleasure of making the most noble form of alliance."

Lucy caught his drift. "I noticed you've been upset the last few days after Peter had decreed you to be wed with King Lune's daughter. Is this why you're doing this?"

He sighed in surrender. "I just thought that if I earned the King of Archenland's trust enough by showing them we were faithful allies, then maybe I wouldn't have to marry one of their pimped up princesses."

Lucy cast an unfamiliar gaze on her brother. "Ed, Peter expects highly of you. It's only due time that a twenty three year old king like yourself should be indulging in these kinds of responsibilities. You should be grateful you of us siblings will have an heir."

"Grateful?" His voice was low and barely audible. "I barely even know the girl. Who knows what our child will look like."

"This is all for Narnia, Edmund. Think of how it would better our country and the neighboring one. We never had an offer to make treaties with Archenland for years." She sat down beside him, caressing his knuckles with her thumb. "It's for the best."

"Well, does anyone think of me? What I want? Why not let Peter or Susan get married instead?" Edmund argued.

"It's perfectly unfitting for the High King of Narnia to get married at this time. Peter has many duties to serve in different countries. He's far too busy. And as a loyal Queen of Narnia, Susan cannot go and live in another's kingdom. She belongs here." Lucy reasoned, her voice calm enough hopefully for Edmund to follow.

He made his way towards the window, found the solid pressure of the wall and leaned against it while facing the dark horizon outside stretching for miles. Clouds brushed the sky with streaks of gray, while constellations littered the heavens and reflected the still waters of the Eastern Ocean. Narnia at night looked like patches of green floating on a vast body of stars.

These were one of the views that would keep his temper sane, but as the situation grew rather remorseless, he frowned once again at the excruciating reminder; that he was being pressured once again to take a big leap he wasn't ready for.

Life was indeed not fair for the Just King. Quite an irony he hated.

"Edmund, she has done nothing wrong. I don't believe we should drag her to crime committed by someone else, even if it's her father," she said. "I know this would be violating an allied law, betrayal even. But then even Aslan knew it's alright to do a little evil to do a greater good. " Whenever Lucy mentioned the Great Lion, Edmund couldn't help but feel a strange familiar ache coiling about him, a reminder of his first brush with treachery as a young boy.

She was still talking. "You've always told me there is greater Law that governs this realm, and it's what we should follow. Why not now?" His little sister's plaintive question bit down on his character quite hard, and he knew he couldn't twist nor manipulate his way around it.

He stiffened. "Blast it. I'll see what I can do." Lucy's eyes lit up with stark relief, and she began to hug him with gibberish words of thank you's. He laughed at how giddy his sister was over a matter such as this.

A dryad came in, holding a plate with a familiar delicacy on it.

"Lucy, are those…brownies?"

"Susan taught the staff how to make them. They're a huge hit here." Lucy thanked the dryad and took the platter.

"Ten years, a decade, and Susan never bothered to make me one?!" Edmund asked, appalled. He came closer, one of his arms outstretched to stuff a longing piece into his mouth. Lucy spanked his hand before before he could snatch a handful.

"These _are_ for _her. _" She insisted, guarding the plate with her life. Edmund looked almost ready to attack. The aroma of the brownies was enchanting to the point of driving him on the brink of sanity.

"My dear sister Lucy, I hereby politely ask of you to kindly remove your hand that is belaying me from enjoying a delicacy I have missed tasting in England for a decade." He threatened. "They rationed all the chocolates during war! I don't even remember what they taste like."

"That's very unfortunate, Ed. You have my sympathies. But they're not for me. They're for the girl." She had never seen her brother so astounded.

"The…girl?" He tasted the words on his mouth. "Not your own brother?"

"I'm sure she would like some Narnian hospitality—"

Before she could finish her sentence, bells outside began to ring a shriek of alarm. A prisoner must have escaped. And they both knew exactly who.

Edmund gave her a look before snatching one of the brownies.

"Wouldn't want to let this one go to waste."

* * *

"Why couldn't you just have left his body somewhere more secluded than the hallway?" Calla demanded. There was no way they could escape right now, not when hundreds of soldiers were up on every post after Bane attacked a guard and left his cadaver for the roaming night watch to discover.

"_You_ tell _me_! The bloody git was already screaming for help before I ripped his throat out," Bane replied nonchalantly. "This way." He instructed, leading Calla to a maze of tunnels.

She almost looked doubtful. "Don't tell me you're only finding the way by instinct."

"How do you think I found you?" He panted, muzzle glued to the floor.

Calla grinned. "You asked for directions?"

Bane ignored her. "There's the underpass. If we keep going, it'll lead us right outside the castle gates. He suddenly froze on his tracks. His ears bent towards the pathway behind them. "We must hurry."

* * *

"Edmund, you have to go alone! The soldiers would only frighten her!" Lucy pleaded, trying to keep up with her brother hurrying to the stables. "We'll never get her back if we try to take her by force."

"Lucy—"

"I know Oreius won't ever allow it, but you're the only one who has ever talked to her and knocked her out in the dungeons. Maybe you could knock some sense into her again if you could just compromise with her."

"Lucy—"

"I know this is just some hostage, but that doesn't make her any less of a subject than it makes us more of royalty. She is in need of our help because she's alone and no other kingdom can take her in."

"Lucy, if you could just quiet down for a bit, you might notice me trying to escape by myself," He told her calmly while buckling the bridles and saddles on his horse, Phillip. "Make sure no one else tries to go after me." Edmund smirked, trying to loosen the tensed strings his sister was pulling.

Lucy sighed in relief. "Can't I at least come with you?"

"It's too dangerous, Lu. You must stay here."

He stated as he mounted himself up on Phillip and nudged the horse's flanks, trotting to a shaft leading outside the Cair Paravel walls.

"And Edmund?" Lucy called before he could depart the stables. Edmund swiveled his horse to face her. She smiled at him. "Be safe."

He laughed, and pulled back the reins so Phillip would stand on his hind legs while he held on heroically. Then, the moment Phillip's hooves went down, they had left in a trail of dust. She watched her brother ride off to an underground passageway deep beneath the stables.

* * *

"There's only one of them following us." Bane said as he and Calla hid in an underground niche. He sniffed some more and frowned, picking up a new scent. "It's not him we should be worried about."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

There was a rustling in the far edge of the forest. Sounds of whimper and quiet growling, fleeting apparitions that disappeared within a blink of an eye. Uphill, there were dark figures that roamed, eyes silently following them in the trunk thick branches. Everywhere they turned, something seemed to move, hide or poke their heads out. Yellow eyes scurried from every direction and each second; they all seem to approach closer.

Calla knew they couldn't hide, nor could any fortes keep them safe from these wildlings. They were brutal, vicious, and most of all, hungry. "I'm hoping you have a plan."

Bane slowly emerged from the burrow, instructing her to do the same. "I always do." He readied himself with a stance, and then yelled to Calla.

"RUN!"

* * *

A/N: There's hundreds of mistakes here, but I've only rewritten this whole thing in one night, so please bear with me and tell me those mistakes and I would be more than happy to give it a few more tweaks. I'm so glad to be back, and I'll try to be updating frequently. The shorter the chapters, the quicker the updates.

Lucy has a whole bunch of brownies, so I spared one for you, sweet reader. Chew. Do you like them?

-DawnD


	2. Chasing Grudges

Anger is one letter short of danger

-unknown

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Chasing Grudges

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"That was very clever going to the Great Forest, Bane! To think you didn't realize there could have been wildlings in this godforsaken lot!" Calla panted, sprinting alongside. Uphill, shadows began running on their sides with a pace that seemed effortless compared to the dawdling pair. "I was better off in the dungeons!"

"If you stayed there they would have had you killed!" He retorted as he and Calla switched paths, hoping to deflect their hunters, only to reel back from dark figures appearing out of nowhere. "You've basically a lose-lose situation, and I'm just the idiot dragged into this!"

"It was your decision to come after me!"

Bane snorted. "I hope I live to regret that."

They scurried onward, even with the slightest hope that there was one of the many paths they've taken that would lead them to a safe haven. Feeble gleams of the moon served only to let them see stark outlines of tall pines, so they had almost exactly no notion of where they were headed. Nor did they realize they were actually running into a narrow depression, a fatal trap that ended with a colossal mass of boulders, a death snare waiting for their mauled carcasses to be left rotting in the cold forest floor.

"No, no, no," Calla ran her hand over the uneven surfaces of the rocks, wishing she could fit between the cracks and slip her way out with her life. "There has got to be another way around."

Bane lifted his nose and sniffed the air. He bent his head in disappointment. Howls erupted behind, and for once, he perceived the futile attempt at escaping these animals. "Listen, Calla." His stern voice drew Calla's attention away from clawing at the rocks. "If I run back, you can still make it out and pass by them."

She frowned. "That's your plan? Martyrdom?!"

Bane shrugged, "Believe me, I'd very much like another option if you have a better one."

"I can fight them off," Calla demanded.

"I said 'better' not get us _both_ killed."

"Come now, Bane I won't allow you to-"

"Oh spare me your condolences. If I'm getting torn apart tonight, I might as well have my dignity intact." He crouched lower, ears recognizing the fast approaching footsteps.

"Bane, don't!" Calla reached out to grab his tail, but he had already bolted towards the incoming wolves ready to enter the alcove. He snarled, clawed, and nipped at them with an impossible reflex, trying to draw their attention away from his human. It seemed to be working as the pack followed the fox away from the niche where Calla was.

Despite Bane's command, Calla ran outside to help him when unexpectedly; one wolf that strayed from its group came across her path, making her stagger and fall. Underneath the moonlight, the wolf emerged, baring its teeth and glaring at its prey with dagger eyes. Its approach was slow, studying and predicting the next movement of its prey. Calla dug her hand underneath the earth and pulled out a fallen branch.

Before the wolf could lunge, she whipped it with the branch, only puzzling for a moment and driving the wild animal livid with rage. She cursed herself under her breath and proceeded to whip the wolf with the branch as she tried to prop herself up to run away. The wolf seized the branch with its fangs and tossed it away. Calla, devoid of weapons, ran off in the other direction deciding it was better to hope her legs would not fail her than stand and become shredded meat.

She could hear the padding of the wolf's feet closing up behind her. But she wasn't planning on stopping no matter how much she hated running. The wolf already was a hell of a motivator. As they sprinted downhill, it circled in a faster pace, meeting her on the base of the hill. Calla slid and scrambled upwards, cursing sufficiently the name of her pagan gods.

Running uphill was a whole lot harder than she thought. Calla, upon miraculously reaching the summit, took it upon herself to rest against the barks of the trees in order to gasp for air. She looked back to see if the creature was behind. Nothing.

A low growl shifted her gaze. The wolf was already in front of her when she turned her head back.

Knowing it was time to finish her off, it expectantly lowered its hind legs to launch…before another figure came clashing down to keep both of them apart. Calla unglued herself from the tree and hurriedly began to climb it.

She couldn't see very well, but it was clear, the figure was a man with an impressive skill at combat, though it was also clear he was fighting with a much bigger, and hungrier enemy. He unsheathed both of his swords, making it known that he was a mastered swordsman enough to handle twin blades, only the wolf didn't know that.

The man drew closer but kept himself in a cautious distance from the wolf. It lunged forward but the man attacked its flanks in synch, slicing a cut down to its neck. The wolf fell down and rolled to its feet with a cry. It snarled viciously, frenzied with anger. It sprinted forward and clawed at legs, its sharp nails digging enough flesh as it threw him to the barrier of a tree.

The young man groaned in agony as he pressed a hand on his thigh, blood surging in between the spaces of his fingers. His tunic was now streaked in red from gashes of the wolf's nails. He took every ounce of strength there was in him, and grasped the blade that rested on his hands.

The wolf flashed its fangs and jumped towards him, and at the same instant, the man raised his sword up high to collide steel and flesh. There was the sound of whimpers and the dying howl of a fallen creature, and then silence.

The man groaned some more, as the weight of the dead wolf lay atop him. He shoved the wolf off with every remaining ounce of strength he had left, then hauled his sword from its flesh and slunk his head on the ground.

Slowly, Calla stooped down the tree, a bit reluctant to come near him. The blood trickled from his forehead, slowly dripping on his chiseled jaw. His lips were twisting in pain as his hands pressed harder on to his thigh to suppress the continuous blood flow. He scanned his surroundings, pausing a bit when he found who he was looking for.

For a moment, the young man managed to lock eyes with her, but averted his gaze when the pain on his leg consumed him. She didn't approach until he laid completely still, his haggard body succumbing to fatigue.

She stared at him long and hard, carefully defining his identity.

She found it hard to believe that the man who saved her was the same man who had brought her to the dungeons. The same man who will surrender her to Archenland. The same man prophesied to kill her father. He was still breathing. He could still live. He could still live to one day fulfill her father's foreshadowed death. She couldn't let that happen at any cost. That was why she came all the way here to murder him. This was the moment she had been preparing for.

If he died now, he won't ever be getting in her way. No one had to know.

She spotted the sword resting on his lap.

Grabbing the hilt with both hands, Calla let the tip of the blade point directly at his chest. She stopped thinking about how he saved her life to convenience her decision that the Just King had to die.

"I won't let you kill my father."

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A/N: talk about psycho hah what do u think

I hope I can post longer chapters than this

It means a lot to me when you read my story so here have a cookie!

Reviews will be adored!

**-DawnD**


	3. Chasing Deaths

When the fox hears the rabbit scream, he comes a running but not to help

_**-The Silence of the Lambs**_

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Chasing Deaths

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The moon soared among sallow clouds, its bright rays painting patches of silver in the dewed grass. Calla held the sword up high, blood still tarnishing the edge from its previous kill. It was ready for its next one.

"I won't let you kill my father."

She raised the blade, gathering her resolve to finish him off in a clean kill. "I-I won't let you kill my father." She tried to say it one more time with conviction, but the quivering sword frankly implied that she couldn't. It had been easier to kill him earlier when he was armed at the marketplace. It was always easier to kill when they fought back. But when they lie helpless, she almost felt the rush of sympathy.

Calla closed her eyes and drew a sharp breath to ease her doubts.

_Don't._

She jumped at the response she had gotten from the dying boy. She peered at his face and noticed his eyes were shut and he still remained unconscious. But she could still hear his low breathing. It couldn't have been him.

_This is not right. _

There it was again. She didn't know where it was coming from. The voice was ringing loud in her ear, coercing her hands to release the blade. Calla's knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip around the hilt.

"Shut up!" She yelled. _There's no turning back._

She realized she had to do the act, and do it quickly before something could change her mind. Waiting not a moment longer, she lifted the sword and plunged it to his chest.

The blade sunk unto his flesh and hissed when she drew it out. Blood oozed from his torso and pooled on his tunic. When the boy choked blood and his hitched breathing suddenly dropped, Calla refused to look at him. As if she was almost afraid to feel any trace of remorse.

At least it had been quick.

Calla exhaled in satisfaction. It was done. The Just King was dead.

"Calla!"

At the sound of her name, Calla's head turned to her left to see Bane half limping half sprinting along the ground. His front paw was smeared in blood, and his fur was tainted from grisly frays. "We have to leave! There's more of them coming!" He panted, before plummeting to the ground, knees giving in to fatigue.

Calla left the young man and knelt down beside Bane. "You're losing too much blood."

Bane slunk his head, unable to stop his eyes from closing. "Well then, you better leave. I don't want to lose anything else."

The cry of wolves was fast approaching. The ground shook at their arrival. Calla looked around, realizing she was left alone to survive.

She turned her head. The wolves already surrounded them in formation. One of them crouched in front of her, baring its teeth and snarling. It seemed they wanted to finish off the live one first instead of indulging in a meal that fights back.

Another wolf tried to nip at the Bane's leg to haul him away. Calla grabbed her sword and swung at its flank. It released its hold but instead it leapt at her feet. Calla dropped her sword in the process and shrieked, as it was her turn to be dragged.

"Argh!" Its fangs dug onto her heel while another one joined in to maul on her shoulder. Calla screamed in pain, her hands desperately lashed out until she felt the hilt of the sword on her palms. She yanked it towards her and swung in a broad arc over her head, neatly slicing wolf's skull.

Sitting up, she faced the on her heel and drove the sword to its head. It yelped before dropping to the ground, motionless. The sound of steel cracking on bone made the others pull back in caution. They backed away, keeping a safe distance from her, until they finally decided she was too weak to fight back.

Calla's vision blurred. She was sure they were coming in again for another round. She was too tired to even check.

Her eyes flicked over to where Bane was. His breathing was barely audible. She could hardly see the rise and fall of his chest. He must be dead too.

Her grip on the sword slackened as she laid her head back in surrender. She didn't care anymore. She had done what she had to do tonight. The king was dead. And soon, she will be too. The wolves howled in triumph, before flashing their fangs to sink them in their prey.

Suddenly, a cry of soldiers reverberated the entire forest. Shrieks of animals, neighs of horses and calls of men altogether made the wolves angrily driven away in a startled cluster.

She saw the bright light of torches, before her vision faded to darkness.

* * *

She woke to the sun streaming in her face through tall windows.

Squinting against the sunlight, Calla stirred her body, hoping to feel that her limbs were somehow still attached.

"Oh, you're finally awake." A young woman in scarlet clothing stood up from the chair across her bed. She looked to be about sixteen, probably from a regal family.

_I made it out alive, _she thought. The last thing she remembered was being cornered. Dying.

But there was one scenario she couldn't shake out of her head. She remembered killing him. She remembered wielding his weapon stained by his own blood. Finally, after how many years spent waiting for that moment, she had been successful. At turned out, even prophecies can be stopped with human will.

She rested back on her pillow, her worries slightly allayed. Calla reached for the bandages donned to her shoulder. Crimson was surfacing up the cloth and she could feel the itch of the dried blood. But when she lifted the bandages, the wound was barely visible. There was not even a scar.

"I had to use my cordial to heal you," the girl explained upon seeing her confusion. "Had I not, I do not think you would have pulled through."

"Where am I?" Calla asked, gazing the room to inspect her surroundings. She caught sight of a flag attached to the dreary stonewall. It depicted a golden lion on a red field.

"The Narnian infirmary," she replied. "You've been asleep for a couple of days."

Calla was surprised they decided to keep her in the infirmary after pulling a getaway stunt from the prisons. Although she couldn't receive all the credit, she merely escaped with the help of-

"Bane!" Panic seized her when she remembered the horror that happened to them that night. She propped herself up on her elbows and proceeded to sit up.

The girl rushed to her side, prompting her to sit down. "If you mean your fox, then he's resting in his room across yours."

"How is he? Is he alright?" Calla asked her desperately as she sat down.

"He's fine. My cordial works miracles," she assured. "In fact, all three of you survived because of it."

Calla paused. Her voice suddenly dropped a hoarse whisper.

"Three?"

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**A/N:**

My OC scares me tbh

**-DawnD**


	4. Chasing Dreams

"There are two kinds of people in this world, son. Those who save lives, and those who take lives."

"And what of those who protect and defend? Those who save lives by taking lives?"

"That's like trying to stop a storm by blowing harder. Ridiculous. You can't protect by killing."

**_― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings_**

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~O~

Chasing Dreams

~O~

* * *

"Three?"

Calla repeated, hoping she might have heard the woman incorrectly.

"I was worried he wouldn't make it," she told her. "You were all so fatally wounded. My brother, most of all. But fortunately, we arrived in time."

Calla didn't know what to make of the situation. She was torn between being relieved to be alive, or furious that he was. "Your brother? The King?" She almost choked.

The woman widened her eyes. "Oh, how rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Lucy. Lucy Pevensie." She swept to a curtsy.

"_The_ Queen Lucy?"

"There's really no need for formalities. Just 'Lucy' will do. It's my brother Edmund you have to address properly," she laughed. "Between you and me, he rather enjoys the sense of power his title gives him."

Calla was still rendered speechless by the shocking news and failed to return the greeting.

"Calla? That's your name is it?" The girl, Lucy, asked.

"How did you—"

"Your fox has quite a habit of mumbling in his sleep," she explained with a giggle. "He kept wailing out for you, quite dreadfully I might add, and woke half the castle up. I hadn't realized foxes make the strangest sounds when they aren't talking."

"I'm-I'm going to see Bane." She impatiently told the queen instead of asking for her permission.

"I'll come with you." Lucy huffed, running beside her. "He and Edmund should be awake by now."

The minute they stepped into the hall, faun guards were already posted on opposite ends. At the instant they caught sight of her, they locked their weapons into combat positions. They stared at Calla in a stern demeanor, legs in a stance as if they were readying to pursue her.

"My Queen, she is not to leave this room." One of them chided, hands strapped to the hilt of his sword vigilantly.

"We won't be leaving the castle, I promise you." Lucy reassured.

"Aye, but the High King has given strict orders not to let her out of our watch."

"Then you may come with us if you wish. It will only be quick." She answered nonchalantly with a queen's polite smile.

The guards gave each other a hesitant side-glance before stepping back to allow them passage.

Calla cautiously walked out, doubting their swift obedience to comply with her wishes. As Lucy accompanied her to the next room, she looked back at them and saw the fauns closely tailing them behind. She wasn't certain if they knew whom she really was, other than the girl the younger king had arrested after pulling a hostile stunt towards him in the market. But even with that incident, Calla was appalled the Just King's sister showed someone of her status much kindness and hospitality. Still, it did not sway her livid sentiments towards him.

Nothing will.

Upon hearing the unfortunate news of his survival, Calla already began devising a contingency plan. Unlike her carelessly improvised previous plan, this time she could do it neatly with the elegance of strategy. This time, it would be a success.

Calla almost choked at the flashing memory of his dying body at the mercy of his own weapon, but swallowed the gall. She didn't want to feel regret for what she did. She knew her father would have been pleased with her. But although she enjoyed the sensation of fulfillment in her part, Calla felt some kind of remorse in the awful deed to achieve it.

And now she has to do it all over again.

After a few long strides in the hallway, they arrived at the infirmary. Her pulse raced in uneasiness. The only crucial problem at the moment was if Lucy's brother could live to tell the tale and foil everything before she has the chance. She wasn't even sure if he remembered anything that night, but if he had indeed as much sense as his reputation precedes, she had every right to be nervous.

"He's sleeping in there." Lucy grabbed the door handle and slowly pushed it open. The room was quite dim, but a ray of light through the curtains shone on the figure of little fox curled underneath the crumpled sheets. He was on the floor, muzzle rested on a pillow.

Calla placed one foot inside the infirmary and Bane woke up with a sudden jolt, his ears high on alert and nose up on the air as he recognized her familiar scent.

"Calla!" He yelped in joy.

Calla bent down to welcome his embrace as he sprinted towards her with much enthusiasm. "You're alive!"

He curled up against her like a newborn pup. "Well, it takes more than a wolf to kill me."

"It did take more than a drop of my healing cordial to revive you as well." Lucy chuckled.

Bane shyly rolled to his feet to acknowledge her, embarrassed to only have noticed the Queen's presence. He had never met royalty before and even if the people he considered family weren't fond of the monarchies in the entire kingdom, his belief of the divine allowed him to retain his respect for the ones the Great Lion bestowed power upon.

"Your Majesty," he bowed curtly, "I am humbled by such a feat of generosity that you should spare your gifts towards an undeserving character such as myself."

"Oh but the only way to be deserving, is to be in need of it." Lucy replied. "I would never ration my cordial. That is the only time it would be a waste."

"Indeed." Bane answered, dumbfounded. He then turned to Calla. "Before I lost sight of you, I saw you being chased by a that huge rabid wolf. How in Narnia did you escape it?"

Calla knew all too well. The vivid memory of her savior, to her attempts to kill him as a reward. Whatever gallant act he had done for her, she still owed him nothing that would earn the truth. "I ran. And didn't stop like you told me." She kissed his muzzle. "Then it was gone."

Bane was very pleased her obedience to his bidding was able to protect her. "Good." He licked her face in satisfaction. "You've done good."

Lucy smiled, "Well, now that you're feeling all better, I think it probably best to depart before-"

A quiet gasp interrupted her sentence. In the far end of the room, the Just King woke up with a jolt as if he had seen a ghost in his sleep, but upon flashing both eyes open to the safe haven of the infirmary, he sighed heavily in relief and buried his face into his hands. He then sat up on the bed and set both his feet down to feel the wooden floor. He paused there for a quite a while, as if he had been deeply reflecting and remembering what had occurred in his sleep that startled him so much.

Calla stared at him, mesmerized as if she couldn't believe a soul stilled occupied the vessel she was convinced she had gotten rid of. But there was something odd about the way he moved. His arms kept fidgeting around the spot where she had gouged his flesh with his own sword.

Then suddenly, he looked up with realization. He glanced around the room and the second he spotted her crouched on the floor, he stared at her long and hard. Almost as if he was reliving the last minute of his dark moments, and the sight of her was a strong vivid memory he could recall.

Immediately, Calla looked away, afraid if he was keen enough to put the pieces together, her apparent crime to be his murderer would surface in her guilty eyes.

"—Calla, Calla can you not hear me?" Lucy's voice interrupted her brooding thoughts. "Is something bothering you?"

She risked a glance at him, but saw his head was still turned to her. "I must be tired. I suppose a near death experience isn't really such a good place to come back from. I should go ahead and rest," she told her with a nervous chuckle. Calla was completely unsure about the extent of what the Just King knew, but it did not matter, for she could always find a loophole in things. She knew her way around, that was how she came this far and this close to her goal.

"I imagine Edmund feels the exact same way." Lucy laughed. "But as I was saying, I think it best that you should take your leave now. The fauns will be cross if you stay here longer than I've promised."

Calla decided to express concern. "Will he be alright?"

"I shall take care of this, don't you worry. This isn't the first time he's woken up like that." Lucy said as she closed the door.

The fauns, who had been waiting impatiently at the end of the hall, proceeded to walk up to them. Before they were within hearing distance, Bane turned to Calla in a hoarse whisper. "Calla, we will leave this place soon, won't we?"

She kept her chin up and did not look at him. "When it is finished."

He wasn't satisfied with her answer. "Look, I know you've been waiting for this for a long time-"

"So you understand why I have to do this." Calla told him instead of asking, a manner in which Bane could tell she was not in the mood to hear a contradicting response. He decided not to bark the wrong questions anymore.

"You two," One of the fauns called. "Quarters." He instructed. Calla and Bane looked at each other, unsure where to head.

The faun with the scar on his jaw only growled. "The cells."

* * *

"Edmund?"

Edmund blinked harshly at the sound of her voice, as if he snapped back to reality. Sitting up squarely on bed, he looked up at his sister and saw the frigid concern in her eyes, "Lucy." He breathed almost inaudibly. She did not even have to ask if he dreamt of a nightmare. He never had anything otherwise.

Lucy held both of his shoulders, gently trying to shake him out of his dulled gaze. "What was it this time?"

He looked away and turned to the view beyond the confines of the window. It was a lovely autumn morning; the soft breath of the wind swiftly plucking the leaves from their branches, insinuating the arrival of a cold but heavenly beautiful winter. Strangely, to him, winter was anything but heavenly. Winter was anything but beautiful. He did not hold grudges, yes, but he can't let go of memories. Especially the haunting ones.

"The same one." Edmund put a hand on his chest and felt the familiar depression on his lower torso. "The same one every night since."

Lucy's face darkened with understanding. "The White—" she paused to correct herself and sensibly rephrased her words, "Her. She was chasing you again?"

"Yes." He nodded, "Only this time, she 'had' me."

"What do you mean?"

"I dreamt-I dreamt—" he sputtered, feeling the words catch in his throat. "I dreamt I died, Lucy." He closed his eyes with dismay. "It never ended like that."

Lucy was tongue tied. Her brother was a man of strength and conviction. To see him petrified in his own pall of misfortune, she could only imagine what kind of struggle he was going through that could render such a resilient man helpless. Edmund pointed to his torso. "Even the scar. It hurt. Almost as if I had been stabbed again."

Lucy sat down beside him and laid her head on his shoulder. She held his hand and rubbed her palms against his to calm him down. "It's alright, Edmund. It's nothing more than a dream. There's nothing and no one here who will harm you." She assured him. "You're safe now."

He gave Lucy a slight smile for the solace her small warm hands offered, but he shook his head.

"Just for now."

* * *

**A/N:**

So yes I admit, I'm horrible at updating with consistency. Anyways, what are your thoughts on Calla and Bane?

Reviews, both praise and criticisms, will be appreciated

-DawnD


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